Preview - Toulouse v Stade F.

Toulouse, champions of Europe and possessing the most potent back-line in the continent, face a potentially make-or-break match against Top 14 leaders Stade Français on Saturday.

The match will be played at the Stade de Toulouse, scene of Toulouse's de-bagging by Leinster a fortnight ago. With fifth-placed Bourgoin likely to win against a weakened Biarritz team, Toulouse could drop out of the top four of the Top 14 if they lose on Saturday, a precarious position indeed with only four weeks of the season to go.

It is a far cry from the start of the season, when the team ran through opposition teams and scored tries for fun. Toulouse were twelve points clear of the rest and cruising in the Heineken Cup as France convened for the November internationals. Five months later, they are nine points behind Saturday's opponents, and the Heineken Cup is a forlorn memory.

How times have changed! While Toulouse have fallen from grace, the Parisians, who stuttered into the season and really needed the league victory over Toulouse at the Stade de France in November to get their season going, are on a roll of six consecutive wins and seem to be peaking just at the right moment.

They lead the division, courtesy of their double victory over Biarritz, and that still under the shadow of an injury curse that has plagued them for most of the past two seasons.

Mauro Bergamasco, Agustin Pichot, Ignacio Corleto, Rodrigo Roncero, Brian Liebenberg, Julien Arias and Lucas Borges are the injured squad members unavailable for the trip south.

A semi-final spot in the championship is now pretty much a certaintly for Stade Français, but there are other reasons for the Parisians to win this match.

"Everybody is taking this game with the utmost seriousness and passion," said scrum-half Jerome Fillol to Le Site.

"There is a huge amount of enthusiasm. Toulouse is still the benchmark club in this championship with all the stars.

"This is a match like no other, but we don't absolutely need the result. But we will go into this one full steam - we are playing in front of 35,000 fans."

For Toulouse, Argentinian prop Omar Hasan is back from injury, and Julien Ledevedec is in the squad for Fabien Pelous, who is out for a month with a knee injury.

Cedric Heymans is also back from a dead leg injury, and knows just which team is under pressure on Saturday night.

"The Parisians have strung togethre a good run of victories and are playing well," he said to Le Site.

"It is an impressive team which is playing a superb second half of the season.

"They will come into this game without much pressure as they have practically qualified for the semi-finals already.

"The pressure is on our shoulders, and only we can relieve it."

Stade Français squad:

Forwards: Sylvain Marconnet, Pieter de Villiers, Yohan Montes, Dimitri Szarzewski, Benjamin Kayser, David Auradou, Mike James, Boela du Plooy, Raphael Jechoux, Mauro Bergamasco, Sergio Parisse, Shaun Sowerby, Pierre Rabadan.
Backs: Jerome Fillol, Morgan Williams, Alain Penaud, David Skrela, Geoffroy Messina, Stephane Glas, Mirco Bergamasco, Olivier Sarramea, Julien Saubade, Christophe Dominici, Juan Hernandez.

Toulouse squad:

Forwards: Omar Hasan, Gregory Menkarska, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Daan Human, Yannick Bru, Virgil Lacombe, Romain Millo-Chluski, Trevor Brennan, Julien Le Devedec, Yannick Nyanga, Jean Bouilhou, Isitolo Maka, Finau Maka
Backs: Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Frédéric Michalak, Jean-Frédéric Dubois, Vincent Clerc, Yannick Jauzion, Florian Fritz, Maleli Kunavore, Clement Poitrenaud, Maxime Médard, Cedric Heymans.

Referee: Frank Maciello
Touch judges: Didier Gibert, Hervé Gilard
Assessor: Serge Marzullo
Goal judges: Jérôme Garces, Jérôme Lamirand